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Put Down the Duckie (song)
"Put Down the Duckie", performed by Hoots the Owl and Ernie, encourages one not to let possessions get in the way of other activities. Ernie wants to play the saxophone, but due to the presence of Rubber Duckie in his hand, he can only produce a squeak.New York Social Diary: Christopher Cerf __TOC__ Bob sang a portion of the song in Episode 3085. In a segment from season 27, Ellen DeGeneres listened to this song on a Walkman, explaining to Elmo how portable music players work. This segment occasionally led into the original "Put Down the Duckie" song (cutting out the intro and going straight to the opening vamp). In a Play with Me Sesame insert, Ernie uses the song during a game of "Ernie Says" about being happy, angry and sad. In German, the song is known as "Weg mit dem Entchen!" Christopher Cerf and Bob McGrath sang the song at the Brooklyn Public Library on November 21, 2009. Ernie and Hoots the Owl performed an abridged version of the song with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in a new arrangement by Carlos Henriquez as part of A Swingin' Sesame Street Celebration: 50 Years & Counting on October 25th and 26th, 2019. They also reprised the song in Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration, with appearances from celebrities featured elsewhere in the special. Origins The idea behind this song has been borrowed by the Institute for Health Realities research organization of Colorado, as the title for its lifelong health newsletter: According to lyricist Norman Stiles: On the celebrity version, Christopher Cerf said, Celebrity Version During the season that this song premiered, every time a celebrity appeared on the show, the producers would tape a special verse to be sung by that celebrity, and these verses were then edited into the song for later re-airing.Cerf, Christopher Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music booklet, page 12 The celebrity version was first used in the pledge drive production Sesame Street, Special (first airing on the show in Episode 2534). The closing credits of the special featured another celebrity montage for this song, including alternate takes/verses of the featured celebrities (including a verse from Jane Curtin, who appeared but didn't sing in the insert) and the celebrities who appeared in new footage in the special. The credits were followed by a brief scene in which Hoots the Owl reveals to Ernie that he gets a funny sound whenever he wants to squeeze his Rubber Duckie, and Ernie offers a solution: "You've got to put down the saxophone if you want to squeak your duckie!" A second version of the celebrity montage was also made, where some celebrities were replaced with others (mostly borrowing from the closing montage of Sesame Street, Special). This version was first shown in Episode 3076. Celebrities included: Additional changes Aside from the added celebrities, a number of other alterations have occurred between the original and the celebrity-included versions. *The celebrity version features an alternate take of the opening introduction and Ernie's first verse. The opening music played by the back-up musicians when the sketch starts, before Hoots makes an introduction, is also changed. Hoots' opening dialogue is also slightly different; In the original, when he calls Ernie in he says "Come on in, Ernie!" In the celebrity version, he says "Come on in, Ernie, my man!" *At one point, Hoots lists a number of alternate solutions to holding the duckie. In the celebrity version, footage of Rubber Duckie in these situations were shown along with Hoots singing. This footage was included when a portion of the song was included in Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years and ''Shalom Sesame'': "Kids Sing Israel," though otherwise the clip is of the non-celebrity version. File:Put Down the Duckie (original celebrity version; with epilogue)|The original celebrity version of the song, with Paul Reubens (as Pee-wee Herman), Mookie Wilson and Keith Hernandez of the New York Mets, the New York Giants, and Pete Seeger. (Video includes excerpt from Sesame Street, Special) File:Sesame Street - Ernie Puts Down The Duckie|The second celebrity edit, which includes Phil Donahue, Robert MacNeil, Barbara Walters and Gladys Knight and the Pips. (Official Sesame Street YouTube video) Notes *The lavender drummer in Hoots's band was performed by David Rudman.Email communication with David Rudman and fan, July 16, 2013 Noel MacNeal helped with the operating of Ernie's right hand.Facebook communication with Noel MacNeal and friend, August 7, 2014 *The album releases of the song omit the second bridge. Releases ;Audio *''Put Down the Duckie!'' (1990) *''Bob's Favorite Street Songs'' (1991) *''Sesame Street Celebrates!'' (1994) *''Platinum All-Time Favorites'' (1995) *''Sesame Street Best'' (1997) *''Songs from the Street'' (2003) *''Elmo's Rainbow and Other Springtime Stories'' exclusive bonus CD (2010) *''F is for Fun!'' (2018) *''All-Time Favorites 2'' (2018) *''Sing Silly Songs!'' (2019) ;Video (original version) *''Shalom Sesame: Kids Sing Israel (1991, partially dubbed in Hebrew as "Sim Et Barvazi") * ''50 Years and Counting (2019) ;Video (celebrity version) * Sing Yourself Silly (1990, closing lines cut) * Put Down the Duckie (1994) *''40 Years of Sunny Days'' (2009, opening wide shot is cut) ;Online *SesameStreet's YouTube Channel ;Publications *''The Sesame Street Songbook'' (1992 and 2007 editions only) ;Specials *''Sesame Street, Special (1988)'' *''Stars and Street Forever'' (1994) (clips) *''The World of Jim Henson'' (1994) (clips) * The Street We Live On (2004) (clip in timeline) Sources See also *''Put Down the Duckie!'' (album) *''Put Down the Duckie (special)'' *Ernie and Bert songs External links *Norman Stiles interview with Archive of American Television, discussing the segment __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Sesame Street Songs Category:Sesame Street Jazz